On the ocean blue
by MadGirl-SpaceGirl-StarGirl
Summary: Being relatively new to Nassau, Maria has a talent for being unnoticed. But then trouble comes to the island in the form of a stolen page, a legend, and the Captain of the Ranger, being invisible becomes a lot harder. Maria finds herself in the middle of a vicious power struggle, catching the eye of not 1 but 2 pirates. In the midst of the chaos who will survive? Who will thrive?
1. Charles Fuckin' Vane

**Hey guys,**

 **So this is my lame attempt at a Black Sails story.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Well, well. This should be interesting."

For a moment Maria was confused as to what it was that Idelle was talking about. Her young eyes darted around trying to find this supposed source of interest.

"Charles fuckin' Vane"

Captain Charles Vane had just entered the building, accompanied as she understood he always was, by Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny.

Maria only recognised the man through Idelle's identification of him and the avid stories she had been told by the girls in Noonan's brothel, having never seen the man in person before. Whether they had been in his bed or just his presence the girls gave detailed descriptions of every facet of his detail and character.  
Rackham and Bonny were recognisable only by their proximity to the man, well the red locks and low hat gave Bonny away also.

"Didn't know the Ranger had come back." Mused Idelle, and Maria looked at the older girl saying quietly

"Me neither."

"I'd get over there with some drinks if I was you. He's not best known for patience. Well go on!" instructed Idelle bumping Maria's hip with her own. Swallowing her nerves, Maria picked up her tray again, refilled the cups and began making her way over to where Captain Vane sat.

"And if he's looking for company, send him my way!" Idelle called after her with a wink and a chuckle as she sauntered off into the crowds of patrons.

Vane and company were sat in a back corner, behind the stairs. Bonny and Rackham seemed to be too engrossed in each other to notice Maria approach. Vane on the other hand was scanning the crowds intently and noticed her coming before she had taken four steps their way.

As she came closer, Maria felt her stomach erupt in nerves as all the stories of Vane and his crew came back into her mind. She had been in Nassau less than two months, worked for Miss Guthrie in this establishment for one, and for that month she had managed to essentially fly under the radar. No one really paid attention to you if it wasn't your job to keep their bed warm, and Maria was not one of Noonan's girls. Just as long as she kept drinks filled, no one paid her much notice. True, on her second night a man had pulled her into his lap with wandering eyes and groping hands, but Max, God bless her soul, had intervened at once, distracting the man long enough to let Maria detach herself and then explaining to the man in her soft way of speech that Maria was not there to serve them in that way.  
Yes, staying unnoticeable was a talent of Maria's but it wasn't going to work with Charles Vane. She just hoped he wasn't quite as bad as some of the stories made him seem to be.

Carefully manipulating her tray, she placed three full cups of ale onto the table, keeping her eyes downcast. As she turned to leave a hand clamped down around her free wrist and she froze where she was, not wanting to look back at who she knew was the one holding her.

"I don't know you. Thought I knew all of Noonan's girls." Came a low gravelly voice and slowly Maria turned a little so as to look into the face of Captain Vane, whose eyes were boring into her own. She didn't meet his gaze for long, dropping her eyes and saying quietly

"I'm not one of Noonan's girls."

"Oh really? The fuck are you then?" came the response, along with a tightening of the grip around her wrist.

"No one. I just serve drinks." Her words were barely a whisper now, still staring at the ground. After a pause Vane slowly released her from his grasp, leaning back in his seat and saying casually as he did

"You got a name, no one?"

"Maria."

She didn't know why she told him. This wasn't what she wanted, didn't want to be known to a Captain, especially one like Vane.

Vane's eyes suddenly left her face and a smirk broke across his mouth and he got to his feet. Maria turned to see a very familiar figure marching across the tavern floor towards her current position. Eleanor Guthrie had a murderous look on her face and Maria was quick about backing out of her path.

"Ah Miss Guthrie!" crowed Vane, walking forwards with a grin on his face and his arms opened out as if he wanted to embrace her.

Maria's young eyes widened as she watched the woman who had first employed her, swing for, and land a solid punch to the left side of Vane's face. However she let out an audible gasp when Vane returned the blow, knocking Eleanor to the ground.

She hovered by a pillar nervously as Vane extended a hand to Eleanor, an offer of help back to her feet. When Eleanor ignored the offer, got to her feet and stormed away from the pirate, Maria was quick to follow her. Eleanor Guthrie had been kind to her since she had arrived on Nassau, and the punch had looked nasty. She followed Eleanor to a room in the back where the blonde was leaning forwards and examining the damage to her face in a looking glass on the wall.

"Miss Guthrie are you alright?" Maria asked nervously. Eleanor turned to her with a small smile that fell off of her face immediately as her eyes looked past Maria, who turned to find Captain Vane leaning against the wall behind her.

"Out." He ordered simply.

Maria hesitated, looking to Miss Guthrie first. Eleanor gave her an affirming nod and quickly and quietly hurried past Vane and out of the room.

As she re-entered the main room she saw Max in the corner, sitting in the lap of a tanned, dark haired man. Max was murmuring in the young man's ear and Maria had to stifle a giggle at the expression on his face. He just looked confused and almost a little bit afraid, like he thought Max was going to hurt him.

Eleanor Guthrie may have gotten Maria her job at Noonan's brothel, but it was Max who had really taken her under her wing, educating her on island life, protecting the young girl, defending her from the wandering hands of patrons. Max was her closest friend. From across the room, the gorgeous dark haired beauty caught Maria's eye and gave her a small smile and a wink before Max returned her attention to the man who's lap she occupied.

As Maria continued her work that night her mind kept considering the same sentiment;

It seemed Idelle had been right.

The infamous Captain Vane's return had indeed made things very interesting.

* * *

 **Ta da so that's chapter one!**

 **Let me no what you think, positive and constructive critisicm welcome! Review or PM and let me know guys!**

 **More soon.**

 **Geronimo xx**


	2. So will she

**Next instalment my loves**

* * *

Max knew she was fucked.

In the middle of conversing with Jack Rackham about the information she had to sell, Charles Vane had come storming into the room. The man was seething, rage pulsing off him in waves.

"You" he growled and Max felt her eyes widen slightly.

"Is there a problem?" asked Rackham irately and Charles answered

"She doesn't have your page. Flint does! He kills Singleton, took it off his body. His crew's skipping around the island like the prize is as good as theirs."

"No that is impossible!" asserted Max furiously, her accent thickening with her heightened emotion "My partner has the page!"

"What?" another growl from Vane.

"Mr Singelton is not the seller I assure you."

"What did you just say?" demanded Vane advancing on the petite woman.

"Charles…" said Jack in a warning voice, eyes warily on his Captain.

"Shut up Jack." Charles snapped before turning back to Max and steadily stalking towards her. "You really want to keep pushing this? Playing me for a fool?"

"You are mistaken!" hissed Max.

"Yeah the fuck I am!" barked Charles, grabbing hold of Max and slamming her body backwards into the wall causing the woman to cry out.

"Tell me the truth, that the page is gone!" snarled Vane, his hand moving from her arm to her throat.

"No!" insisted Max

"Play me for the fucking fool!"

"You are mistaken!

"DON'T FUCKING LIE TO ME!" roared Vane his hand clenching around her neck causing Max to cry out again and gasp for breath.

"Max?" came a small timid voice.

* * *

Maria was walking up the stairs when she heard Max cry out, an unmistakable sound of pain.

All thoughts of staying invisible dissolved.

She didn't think.

Her friend, her closest friend and protector was in trouble, was in pain.

Picking up her skirts, Maria ran up the last few stairs, straight past Anne Bonny who shouted

"Oi!"

And pushed open the door to Max's room, where she froze in the doorway as the door swung shut behind her, staring with wide eyes at the scene before her.

The man she thought was Jack Rackham was stood tensely to one side of the room by a table, his concerned gaze on the other two people in the room. Charles Vane had Max pinned between his body and the wall, her head tilted back at an awkward, painful angle, one of Charles' hands wrapped around her slender neck, strangling her. Max was on her toes, leaning away, trying to ease some of the pressure on her neck but to no avail.

"Max?"

She heard the word slip from her lips. Maria had had every intention of helping her friend but now she just didn't know what to do. She had no weapon with which to threaten Vane, no backup, nothing to intimidate him with or offer him. She didn't know why this page that she had hear mentioned was so important and she couldn't do anything to help that part of the situation.

And so she looked to Max to tell her what to do.

* * *

"Max?"

Both Vane and Rackham turned to look at the young girl while Max's eyes darted to her.

"Maria" choked out Max "g-go back downstairs."

"No." growled Vane,

"Maria, GO-"

"DON'T FUCKING MOVE!" roared Vane as Maria started to reach for the handle, nearly making her jump out of her skin and causing her to freeze where she was, pressed against the wall.

"Now" Charles said in a low voice of dangerous calm turning back to Max "Don't. Fucking. Lie to me."

"She's not lying" Jack finally spoke up "Flint is."

"What?" barked Vane turning to glare at Jack.

"Flint lost the page, so what does he do? He bluffs" Jack said as if it was simple "He makes Singleton the thief and kills him to prevent counterargument putting a tidy end to his mutiny in the process, in hopes he can recover it before anyone's the wiser."

Jack took a calculated step forwards.

"Honestly Charles, are we to believe that Singleton while conspiring with you to depose Flint, was using this whore" he gestured at Max "to try and bilk your crew out of its money? Say what you want about Singelton, but he was neither that clever nor that dumb. Now will you please, put her down so we can complete our transaction?" He finished, sounding positively bored with the whole situation.

Instead of calming Vane it seemed to enrage him further and he lifted Max off her feet by the throat, causing Max to release a strangled cry. As Vane continued to snarl in Max's face Maria wanted to run forwards, strike him, do something to help, but as she took a tentative step forwards she saw Jack Rackham shake his head almost unnoticeably in her direction.

Warning her.

Warning her to stay put and stay out of it.

Suddenly she saw Rackham narrow his eyes at a seemingly insignificant spot on the opposite wall. Maria watched as he drew his dagger and crept forwards towards a small hole in the wall. All of a sudden he leaped forwards and stabbed through the hole. This caught Vane's attention and although he did not release Max he stopped yelling at her and watched as Jack hurried from the room. A few moments passed before he reappeared. Jack pulled his dagger from the wall and held it up for Charles to see. Three beads of blood slowly ran down the blade as Jack said

"Unless Singleton rose from the dead to spy on us, she is not lying to you Charles."

A tense moment passed, silence stretching out.

Finally, Vane let go.

Max collapsed to the floor gasping and choking for breath and without pausing to think Maria ran forwards and dropped to her knees by Max's side, laying a comforting hand on the her back and asking in her quiet voice if she was ok and what she could do. Over her head she heard Vane speak once again, voice tight with supressed anger

"If he's wrong about this, he'll answer to my crew. If you're lying, you'll answer to me."

Maria didn't turn to look at the irate Captain, too focused on helping Max. So she was taken completely off guard when Vane crouched behind her, and yanked on her hair forcing her head back so that she could just see him.

"And just to add some more incentive – so will she."

There was silence in the room as both Charles and Jack left, leaving Maria and Max huddled on the floor.

"Max" Maria breathed, one hand bunched in a fist in the material of her skirt the other holding one of Max's dainty hands. "Tell me it's going to be alright. Please?"

But Max didn't speak, merely coughed and massaged her throat, where the imprint of Vanes hand was still clearly visible.

* * *

When Eleanor Guthrie appeared in the doorway to Max's room, she found Noonan pacing, Idelle tending to Max's neck and Maria hovering silently behind Max.

"Ah" said Noonan seeing Eleanor arrive "Good. Maybe you can get her to talk!" Noonan was clearly agitated, most likely because of the damage inflicted to one of his best earners.

"I'm fine" said Max through gritted teeth.

"Huh. The fuck you are" sneered Noonan, then to Eleanor "She went and got herself nearly killed by Captain Vane. I want to know why."

"Leave us alone Noonan." Eleanor said coldly. After giving her a look, Noonan left with Idelle in tow. Maria remained behind, one hand resting on Max's shoulder, Max's hand on top, fingers rubbing in soothing circles against her wrist.

"Maria you should go too." Eleanor said, not unkindly and after a brief glance at Max who nodded, Maria bobbed a tiny curtsey to Eleanor out of respect and walked out of the room, leaving Max and Eleanor to talk alone.

* * *

The back of Maria's head was smarting slightly from where Vane had grabbed her hair, and she rubbed it absentmindedly as she descended the stairs back to the main floor of the brothel. Her mind was a mess of thoughts, making her almost completely unaware of her surroundings.

 _Vane._

 _A page?_

 _All this over a piece of paper?_

 _Max._

 _Vane._

 _The page._

 _Rackham._

 _Vane's threat._

 _"So will she."_

 _Max_

 _"So will sh-"_

"Oh shit!" came a voice from above her as she collided with something warm and solid, nearly knocking her off her feet if it wasn't for a pair of roungh hands, one at her waist and one at her shoulder steadying her before she hit the ground.

"You alright?"

Maria blinked.

The man holding her was tall.

Very tall.

Tanned skin, clearly very strong, with close cropped hair and a sword at his belt which she eyed apprehensively.

Surprisingly he didn't look angry at her carelessness, just concerned. Eyes, a mixture of green and hazel frowning slightly as he set her upright and said again

"You alright?"

Maria ducked her head, breaking the eye contact and said quietly

"Y-yes. Sorry, I-I wasn't paying attention."

"S'alright." shrugged the tall man "Not like you did any damage."

"BONES!" came a distant voice and the tall man turned at the sound.

"Watch where yer goin' next time yeah?" he said, not unkindly as he hurried away.

* * *

It was late.

Maria was lying on her small bed in her small room in the back of the brothel, staring at the wall.

She heard her door creak open and her hand automatically went for the knife that Max had insisted she keep within reach of her bed.

"It's just me." came Max's accented whisper came and Maria relaxed, though she didn't turn around.

The bed behind her dipped, evidence of Max climbing into it and lying on her side, her fingers playing with Maria's dark chocolate locks that cascaded down to her shoulder blades. Max's slender fingers played with the waves, twisting and loosely braiding them with no real purpose.

"Maria.." Max soft tone trailed off like she wasn't sure what to say "mon chéri, I'm leaving this place."

At once Maria sat up, whipping around to look at Max who sat up also.

True enough, Max was wearing a travelling cloak and had a bag at her side.

"Wh-what?" Maria said a little aghast at what she was hearing. "Why?"

"Eleanor has betrayed me. Us." Max's voice was cold but even in the dim light Maria could see the heartbreak behind her eyes. "Vane will be coming for me and I cannot stay here."

All this information washed over Maria in waves as she digested it.

Suddenly Charles' Vane's voice floated into her mind

 _"So will she."_

"What about me?" she asked with fear in her voice "V-Vane said- but I-I have to come with you!"

Maria was on her feet now, bouncing on the balls of her feet with nervousness. Max hurried around the bed and clasped Maria's shaking hands in her own.

"No" Max was firm but kind "You should stay. Go to Eleanor. She will protect you, I promise. Vane wont be able to get at you." Max spoke with hurried certainty. Now as well as fear, Maria felt confusion.

"But- then she can protect you too! You don't have to le-"

"No." Max cut her off with fierce defiance in her face. "I cannot stay here. Not now. Not after she-" Max paused and swallowed her emotion before saying calmly "I must go."

They both went to the door and Max took Maria's face in her hands appraising the girl. Maria had changed a lot since her arrival in Nassau but she was still young, still not as tough as she needed to be and Max felt horrendously guilty leaving her young friend this way.

"Go to my room. It's guarded. The back entrance should be clear for now, Idelle is seeing to that. Stay in there. You'll be safe mon cher." Max said with what she hoped was a kind smile.

Gently she pressed a soft kiss to Maria's lips.

"Take care of yourself belle fille. I'll not forget you." she whispered before she disappeared from Maria's room.

With her eyes glistening with unshed tears, Maria watched Max leave then hurried into action. She snatched the knife from beside her bed and hid it in the waistband of her skirt. Then she hurried to the back, balcony entrance to Max's room.

Sure enough, it was deserted.

She slipped inside and hurried to the small space between the bed and one of the corner's of the room. She sat on the floor, knees drawn up to her chest, back pressed to the corner, facing the door, submerged in shadow and holding the knife tight in her hand.

All that was to be done now was wait to be discovered, either by Eleanor's men or Vane's whichever came first.

Despite her own fear at what would be done to her should Vane arrive to the brothel first, Maria's mind went first to Max.

Uttering silent prayers for her friend's safe escape, Maria settled in for what was sure to be a long night.

* * *

 **Ta da!**

 **Hope that was ok y'all!**

 **I know there wasn't a lot of action but I'm building to it I swear!**

 **Let me know what you think, I love hearing from you guys!"**

 **More soon.**

 **Geronimo xx**


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